


Captured

by TwinkieMonsterTallah



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Added a sprinkle of 'it's fiction no one cares how accurate it is', Blood, Highly Inaccurate First Aid, I tried to apply modern first aid training to a medieval setting, I'm sorry Kitty, Minor Character Death, Please don't use this as a guide, Violence, and mixed well with 'my EMT friend will read this and is going to be mad at me', but it's not graphic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-20
Updated: 2019-11-20
Packaged: 2021-02-16 02:37:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21500479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TwinkieMonsterTallah/pseuds/TwinkieMonsterTallah
Summary: “The mighty Inquisitor, fallen so easily by his own foolishness.” The woman strode forward and grabbed Aiden's chin. “The Elder One will be quite pleased with us, I should think.”Arching an eyebrow, Aiden replied, “You know, this is rather an inconvenient time for me; I have plans for tomorrow. Do you think we could get back to this on another date? I’m sure I could have it fit into my schedule: capture by Venatori at three o’clock. Or would four work better for you?”
Relationships: Iron Bull/Male Lavellan
Comments: 4
Kudos: 38





	Captured

The Western Approach was Hell in Thedas. Being from the Free Marches, Aiden was used to hotter temperatures, but the Western Approach took it to an extreme he hadn’t thought the south was capable of. The sand was hot enough to blister your feet during the day, forcing even Solas to wear boots. At night it was so cold that the party could all see their breaths, and the wildlife seemed rather attracted to their campfires, forcing them to post a guard to shoo away curious phoenixes and quillbacks. (They had learned rather quickly not to post Cole as this guard; he kept narrating the animals’ thoughts and creeping Bull and the requisitions officer out, as well as waking the other soldiers and party members.)

If they hadn’t had so much business in the Approach, they would have been back at Skyhold helping with preparations for the attack on Adamant Fortress. The Inquisition had just gotten Professor Serault’s draconology book translated and delivered, and Cassandra had also had business in the desert: one of her targets, Leo of Lucien Bay, had been in the northern half of the Approach. He had been dealt with the day before though, so he actually no longer counted. However, they had also just arrested Servis, who was being held in Griffon Wing Keep before transported to Skyhold to await trial after the attack, so Aiden had had to work on his report to send along after arranging the transportation in the first place. Griffon Wing Keep was finally running as well, and Aiden had busied himself with checking up on the keep and making sure the men had everything they needed, including helping to clear the creek for them. 

Even with all of this work going on, the party was looking forward to battling the Abyssal high dragon. Aiden knew that whenever there was a dragon fight, there would be injuries, so after dinner he had decided to go down to Lost Wash Creek to gather herbs. There was a wonderful dip above the creek that was filled with elfroot, and there was plenty of spindle weed by the creek itself. Bull looked up, opening his mouth to offer to go with him, but Aiden was shaking his head before he could make a sound. 

“I’ll return within the hour; I’ll be alright.” His words were accompanied by a soft smile at his Vhenan. 

The creek was just north of the camp, and took only ten minutes to reach on foot. The sun was finally setting, creating a beautiful orange glow around the gold of the sun. It was finally cooling off as well, so Aiden had left his armor at camp. He understood they had to wear it during the day to avoid sun burning, but it was so damn hot that he was grateful for these few hours that he could leave it off before having to bundle up again to avoid hypothermia. 

Reaching the creek, Aiden saw that there were no soldiers from the keep, and looking around while climbing down the platforms showed him that there were no animals either. He was completely alone, so Aiden softly sang while he worked. 

Taking only one or two leaves from each plant, which would be more than enough to make plenty of potions for the next day, Aiden headed down to the creek to rinse the sand from the leaves. He was softly humming and mentally counting how many flasks they had at camp when a sharp tip came to rest between his unarmored shoulder blades.   
A rough female voice behind him ordered, “Stand up, hands in the air.” 

Doing as he was told, Aiden set the leaves he was holding down and slowly rose to his feet. Thanks to his singing, he had both lead these people right to him and hadn’t been able to hear their approach. How stupid could he be?! 

The blade disappeared and a gloved hand grabbed his wrist. The woman’s voice had come from one side, so someone else was twisting his arms behind his back to bind them. Once bound, he was roughly spun around by someone who turned out to be a Venatori, one of the Stalkers judging by the daggers on their back. Aiden couldn’t tell if this was a man or a woman because of their helmet, but from the stature he would guess this was a man. 

Behind the Stalker stood a Brute and the woman who had spoken; a mage. The mage had her arms crossed and a satisfied smirk across her face. “The mighty Inquisitor, fallen so easily by his own foolishness.” The woman strode forward and grabbed Aiden's chin. “The Elder One will be quite pleased with us, I should think.” 

Arching an eyebrow, Aiden replied, “You know, this is rather an inconvenient time for me; I have plans for tomorrow. Do you think we could get back to this on another date? I’m sure I could have it fit into my schedule: capture by Venatori at three o’clock. Or would four work better for you?” 

A sharp crack rang through the air as the woman slapped Aiden, forcing his head to the side and splitting his lip with the force of it. “Cease your witticisms! They will get you nowhere when you kneel before our master!” 

Aiden glared back at the woman with blood running down his chin. “A shame I won’t be meeting him! My people are just over the dune; all I have to do is shout and they’ll come running!” 

The woman threw her head back and laughed. “There is no one near us! Do you think we came down into this dip without checking around it first? We saw a fine prize, but we were not so foolish as to rush into a potential trap!” 

Aiden tried to keep his fear from having his bluff called from openly showing on his face, but the Venatori must have seen something, because she laughed and stepped back. Gesturing to the Brute behind her, she ordered. “Silence him, and then let’s move.” 

Warily, Aiden watched the large man approach him, trying to pull back away from the approaching man. What did the mage mean by -? 

The thought was cut off by the savage punch to the midsection that knocked the breath from his lungs and dropped him to his knees. 

“Carry him.” the mage ordered. The Brute hefted Aiden over his shoulder and followed her out of the creek. The Stalker brought up the rear, keeping an eye out in case there really was someone close behind. 

Aiden dazedly watched the sand pass beneath him for a few moments before slipping into unconsciousness. 

**************** 

“It’s been an hour, and he’s not back.” Bull announced suddenly, a worried frown furrowing his brows. “Something’s wrong.” 

Cole looked up from where he’d been thinking to himself by the fire. “You’re nervous. He left his gear behind; there are animals, bandits, Venatori. Is he alright? What-“ 

“Please don’t do that.” Bull interrupted. He grabbed his sword – a beautiful elven blade that Aiden had crafted for him – and slung it across his back. “I’m going to go look for him.” 

“I’ll come with you.” Cole stood to join the qunari, and Cassandra reached for her sword. 

“The three of us will search for him together. I believe it best to start at the creek.” 

Bull bit back the urge to snap at the well-meaning Seeker’s obvious statement and simply strode away from camp. 

The creek, normally a ten-minute walk, was reached within eight minutes thanks to Bull’s powerful stride leading the way. In the dim light of the final moments of daylight, the three of them slid down the ladders and walked around, looking for signs of the Inquisitor. 

Next to the water, Cassandra found the small pile of elfroot leaves. She pocketed them in case they would be needed while Cole softly murmured, “Surprised, stolen, scared. What will happen now? No one near, no one to hear if I call…” 

Cole fell silent when he noticed Bull’s dark expression. He knew, of course, that Bull wasn’t angry at him, but he was angry enough that his carefully-cultivated control of his expressions was slipping. Or was it on purpose? 

Pointing down, Cassandra said, “Footprints, two men and a woman.” 

Bull glanced the prints for a moment. “One of the men had extra weight when he left, and the Boss didn’t leave any prints. He was carried away.” 

Never a woman to be caught unprepared, Cassandra took a moment and lit a small torch from her belt to light their way so that they could follow the footprints in the dark. While this worked, they could only see a few feet ahead of them, forcing them to move slowly. With no idea of how long ago Aiden had been taken, they had no idea how long it would take to find him, and all three of them were feeling the anxiety of not knowing what state he would be in when they found him. What if they were too late and he had been killed?   
Of course, the rational parts of all of them knew that Aiden would be more valuable alive, but still they worried, each in their own way. Bull kept his expression perfectly guarded now, and Cassandra as well gave nothing away, but Cole kept up a softly whispered litany, narrating their thoughts and his own in words too soft to be completely heard. He knew, of course, to be silent when he could sense the Venatori, but they had not come upon them yet. 

Almost two and a half hours of tracking later, the trio came upon the Venatori camp. The Venatori themselves had reached the camp only an hour ago, and had retired with only one person to watch Aiden, who was tied to a hastily-planted set-up that looked like spare tent poles lashed together into an X in the middle of the small circle of tents.   
Despite how simple it looked, the three knew not to underestimate the Venatori. They could have placed explosive mines around their camp, or at the very least an alarm ward. 

************** 

Aiden had awoken just before being tossed to the ground. He ached all over, bruised from both the punch and from being dropped. He suspected a broken rib due to the sharp pain that made breathing difficult, his face stung from the slap earlier, and the position he was hauled into didn’t ease the pain in his side. At the same time it made the ropes binding him bite into his wrists, rubbing them raw whenever he tried to adjust himself. 

He had kept from making any sounds of pain during all of this, and even now he was silently trying to think of how to escape. The single sentry actually made planning much more difficult thanks to the very small area he had to watch. So narrow a focus meant he’d see more happening, whereas if this had been a larger camp it actually would have been easier to give him the slip. 

Of course, the broken rib would also make sneaking away harder, since he wouldn’t be able to move as fast. Aiden's self-control only went so far, and he was sure that running and crouching in this condition would eventually lead to him making some sound. 

None of this mattered, of course, if he couldn’t think of a plan to get out. His arms were spread apart on the crossed poles, and he had tried reaching down to untie the ropes with just his fingertips, resulting in two broken nails and the revelation that the ropes were very secure. Perhaps he could try to get away when he was untied? If they were taking him to Corypheus, they’d have to untie him to move him at some point. He still had to figure out… 

Wait… what was that sound? 

************** 

“What do we do?” Cassandra asked, and even Cole looked up at Bull for instruction. It made sense; of the three of them, he was the most likely to be strategically-minded. Sure, Cassandra had the training, but as she had admitted herself, she did tend to act without putting much thought to planning. Bull, however, was a member of the Ben-Hassrath and thus had been trained to analyze everything, to put the pieces together and work out a solution, be it a battle or an interrogation. 

After a few minutes analyzing the scene, Bull said, “Seeker, how well do you think you could block their magic?” 

Cassandra studied the camp below. “If there is presumably one person in each tent, and the tents are that close together… I believe I can block all of it.” 

Nodding, Bull continued. “Cancel out their magic then. I’ll go in as a distraction to draw them away from the Boss, and Cole, you do that forgetting thing and get him out of dodge.” 

Cole had been staring at the sentry for several minutes now, and when Bull finished speaking, he told them, “He’s hurt, harder to move. Bloody Brute; make him carry the damned knife-ear. ” Looking at Bull, he nodded. “I will make them forget, The Iron Bull.” 

Bull allowed his expression to darken as he nodded to Cassandra to begin. With a roar, he swung his blade from his back and charged into the camp. The sentry shouted, but was cut off when his head went flying into the darkness. 

Cassandra clenched her fist, cancelling out the magic in the area even as the Venatori mage who had captured Aiden earlier came stumbling out of her tent, robe missing and hair sticking up in several directions, with flames dancing at her fingertips. The flames extinguished at once, leaving her to duck back and allow the two soldiers to protect her while she disappeared back into her tent. 

Darting between, Cole made it to Aiden's side, but Cassandra's magic dispersal had an unfortunate and unforeseen side effect; it cancelled out his ability to slip past forgotten! Cole wasn’t used to having people whom he had thought couldn’t see him suddenly turn and swing a sword his way, and it was in the nick of time that he brought a dagger up to meet the blade. 

While Cole was forced back from Aiden, Bull and Cassandra – mostly Bull, fueled by his rage – had made short work of the rest of the Venatori. Once the man Cole was engaged with had fallen, the only one left was… 

The mage woman’s eyes glittered with malice as she held Aiden's hair. At some point, she had cut him free – not too gently – and had forced him into a kneeling position. The stabbing pain from his broken rib had kept him from being able to do much to fight her, and even now his breath only came in short, ragged gasps. 

Gripping his hair tightly enough to make several strands part company with Aiden's scalp, the woman forced his head back and held a knife to his throat, the razor-sharp edge digging just enough to raise a bead of blood, small but noticeable. Her threat was clear, and unwillingly, Bull and Cassandra both lowered their weapons. Both of them wore the same expressions of five layers of fury carefully guarding their fear for the Inquisitor’s safety. 

Cassandra was the first to find her voice. “Well, tell us what you want!” 

Down by the mage, Aiden shook his head as best as he could, but it went unnoticed. 

The woman narrowed her eyes. “The first thing you’re going to do is have your Seeker here return my magic!” 

“It is done,” Cassandra spoke through gritted teeth. 

To test the truth of her words, the mage held her hand up and snapped, igniting a small flame above one finger. Satisfied, she reached down to grab Aiden's arm and hauled him to his feet, ignoring his poorly-stifled gasp when the motion jostled his side. 

“Now the two of you are going to follow and protect me while I go to the next camp, or else,” the woman pressed the dagger harder down, finally opening an actual cut. “I’ll slit his throat from ear to ear.” 

Bull watched a drop of blood slowly run down Aiden's neck with his heart in his mouth. While most people would only care that the Inquisitor was in danger, Bull was more concerned that his lover – his Kadan – was being threatened. Under his armor the weight of the dragon tooth necklace seemed to grow, to become noticeable. They had only just found each other, Bull couldn’t lose him now! If it pleased this woman and kept Aiden safe, Bull would join the Venatori and wait on this woman hand and foot. 

In the woman’s grip, Aiden realized what was about to happen. The ‘two’ of them? Softly, Aiden chuckled, wincing. In a voice barely above a whisper, but still heard by all three people around him, he told the Venatori, “You lose.” 

“What – agh!” 

The hands holding Aiden went suddenly slack, the woman’s body falling backwards while Aiden dropped forward and to his knees. He fell into Cassandra's arms as the Seeker had darted forward to catch him, before carefully turning him to lie on his back while Bull took over holding him. 

Cole wiped his daggers off on the woman’s breeches. “I made her forget so that I could help.” 

Aiden smiled tiredly and murmured, “Thank you Cole, and thank you all for coming for me.” 

Eyes slipping closed, Aiden suddenly felt exhausted. He hadn’t realized it, but he had been focused on the Venatori woman's action for the last several minutes, and now that the danger was past and he was within his own thoughts again, his breath began to come in short pants. He lifted a suddenly-trembling hand and touched his side, but snatched it away with a hiss. He turned to press his forehead to Bull’s arm while Cassandra carefully lifted his shirt. 

The middle of Aiden's torso and one entire side were mottled in shades of purple from the Brute’s powerful punch hours earlier, and there were scabs from where the spikes in the Brute’s knuckles had pierced the skin. More marks showed where Aiden had been slung and carried on top of the sharp edges on his pauldron. The bruising extended over the lowest ribs on each side, and on the left it extended up further. Gently, Cassandra pressed two fingers over a particularly swollen spot, making Aiden shriek. 

“I believe it is broken, but I know it is at least cracked.” Cassandra reached for the pocket that she had put the elfroot in. “None of us brought potions; we’ll have to take you back to camp like this.” 

Cole unwound his scarf and held it out. “I’ve seen these used for injuries; will it help?” 

“Oh, thank you!” Cassandra took the scarf and straightened it out. “Bull, help him sit up.” 

With a soft groan, Aiden grinned up at Bull. “Oohh, this is gonna hurt.” 

Aiden grit his teeth and clenched his fists the entire time he was held up. It took him several minutes afterwards to fully relax, but once he did he found that breathing was a bit easier. His side still hurt like hell, but at least now Bull was able to move him without him feeling like shouting. Instead, he now only had the urge to gasp a curse or two. He wondered just how powerful that Venatori had been to be able to punch him and cause an injury such as this. Unfortunately the blow had been strengthened by his armor’s weight and the aforementioned spikes. 

Exhausted and cold, Aiden's eyes slipped shut. “I think… I think I’m ready to move.” 

Cassandra handed Aiden a few of the elfroot leaves to chew on while they walked. The only sound of protest Aiden made was right when he was lifted, and it was only a small, sharp gasp. 

The trek back to their own camp was much faster now that they no longer had to search for prints. It only took an hour to reach their camp, and in that time Aiden's side had stopped throbbing and was now a dull, steady ache. The chill of the night was kept away by the heat radiating off of Bull, which greatly helped Aiden to relax. He wasn’t asleep, but Bull’s steadily uneven gait and careful handling had lulled him into a deeply relaxed stupor. 

During the walk back, Bull handled Aiden as if he were made from Orlesian porcelain. He wouldn’t call himself a sentimental man, but having his Kadan safe in his arms almost made a tear come to his eye. Almost. He was definitely a tad miffed when they got to camp and he had to set Aiden down. 

Aiden roused himself when he noticed the glow of firelight, so he was awake when Bull set him on the bed in the large tent intended for the Inquisitor. He usually hated the tent and its contents and chose to sleep outside on a bedroll most nights, but surprisingly he was grateful to be here. Moving and stretching his side brought the pain back, and he grabbed the blanket under him to have something to hold onto while Bull carefully unwound Cole’s scarf and removed his shirt before replacing them with a proper bandage and a clean shirt. The qunari had insisted on looking after Aiden himself rather than bring in the camp’s healer, and honestly Aiden actually preferred it this way; the healer wouldn’t have liked it when he hissed elven curses through clenched teeth. 

Cassandra ducked into the tent a moment after the shirt had settled into place, holding one of the healing potions from the supply crate. Murmuring voices following her in meant that the camp was beginning to wake up, possibly alerted by the sentry who had seen them approaching. “I thought the two of you could use this.” 

Bull took the bottle and nodded. “Thanks Seeker. Could you tell the men he needs to be left alone to rest? I don’t think the Boss’ll be too happy if people keep poking their heads in here and hanging around outside.” 

“No, I wouldn’t.” Aiden spoke common for the first time in twenty minutes. 

Cassandra ducked back out, and within moments the voices were further away. 

Once they had some more privacy, Bull popped the bottle open. “You’re going to hate this, but you have to drink the whole thing.” 

“Can I do it a little at a time?” Aiden winced as he propped himself up on one elbow. 

“Of course,” Bull reached back and rearranged the pillow to help Aiden sit up comfortably. “I wasn’t expecting you to down it all at once.” 

Aiden took the potion from Bull and took a small sip out of it. “I guess this means we’re not dragon hunting tomorrow?” 

“That would ultimately depend entirely on what you want, Boss, but if I were to have a say, no, we’re not.” 

“Sorry to let you down, I know how you love dragon fights.” Aiden took another sip. 

“It’s not your fault; it was those damn Venatori.” Bull sat down on the narrow bed next to Aiden, ignoring the worrying creak of the frame, and placed an arm around him. “I’m glad you’re alright though.” 

“I honestly feel like death decided to use me as a punching bag, which may not be entirely inaccurate; I never got the man’s name.” Aiden leaned into Bull’s side to reclaim the heat from earlier. Already breathing was a little easier, although now instead of a constant ache, his entire abdomen and side were tingling as if they had fallen asleep. 

Bull was silent for several minutes, and the only movement was when Aiden took small sips off of the healing potion until it was finished. When Aiden seemed to have improved significantly, Bull helped him adjust to be lying down. 

“I don’t think you’re going to want me holding you until your wounds heal, but I will stay here if you like.” Bull offered. “I just have to go get my bedroll.” 

Normally Aiden would be inviting Bull onto the bed with him, but as long as he was still sore, he didn’t want to move again, and this wasn’t even considering the fact that the bed was only a slightly-larger cot with a thin mattress instead of a mere cloth stretched over it, so instead he smiled and nodded. “I make no promises that I’ll be awake when you get back, but feel free to do as you please.” 

Bull gave Aiden one last look over his shoulder before leaving the tent, and sure enough, by the time he arrived, Aiden had managed to turn onto his uninjured side and had fallen asleep. Quietly, Bull laid his things down and sat by the bed. He was still too keyed up from earlier to sleep, so instead he had brought his sword and busied himself cleaning and polishing it. 

The rest of the night passed peacefully, with the voices outside dying away until the only sound was the occasional soft sound of the sentries making their rounds.


End file.
